He made the assertion at a colloquium held by the National Conscience Party(NCP) held in honour of the party’s founder, Gani Fawehinmi, in Akure on Thursday. Mr. Musa, who chaired the occasion themed, The State of the Nation: If Gani Were to Be Alive, argued that “the policies of the federal government, instead of ameliorating the sufferings of the people, have further impoverished and inflicted more pains on the masses”.
He extolled the virtues of the late legal icon, whom he said, fought hard in his life time to defend the rights and wellbeing of the masses.
He recalled the efforts of the late NCP founder and the sacrifices he made to sustain democracy, which resulted in his incessant incarceration and humiliation by the military.
Delivering a lecture as the lead speaker at the event, Femi Aborisade, a lawyer, blamed the woes of the country on the greed of politicians and those at the helms of affairs.
Speaking on the topic, “Abolition of Poverty Is a Struggle the Masses Wage and an Agenda NCP Must Actualize,” Mr. Aborisade also identified personal aggrandizement as the problem of the leaders.
According to him, greed of the politicians is one of the greatest challenge responsible for the numerous economic crises bedevilling the country at the moment.
Mr. Aborisade, who stated that the present economic situation had devalued the lives of the common man, described the situation as very pathetic, saying the hopelessness in the land was as a result of self inflicted greed of the politicians.
“The situation in Nigeria today is sad, politicians have devalued our lives and gave us poverty, there is hopelessness and economic crisis in our land but when we remove the greed of the politicians, the pains will be removed,” he said.
Mr. Aborisade also pointed at the nation’s adherence to the dictates of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as reasons for the economic challenges facing the country.
While noting that the nation is not broke financially, he urged Nigerian political leaders to allow the masses to develop an alternative economic blueprint.
“There is crisis in the land and Nigeria is not broke. If government can recover all these stolen loot and whatever recovered should be used for the benefit of the masses and should not recover the loots to re-loot,” he said.
Mr. Aborisade recommended a law that would spell out how all recovered stolen funds would be spent.
“We are not interested in only recovering the stolen loots but it must have effect on the lives of masses in terms of economy, education, power and others,” he said.
“The fight against corruption must commence from the NNPC and CBN. The Federal government should investigate and probe these organisation.
“The probe of the past administration should not be limited to former President Jonathan alone, but should be extended to past administrations.
“The Halliburton case should be revisited and Obasanjo and Atiku should be made to answer questions and they must be brought to book if found guilty.”
Mr. Aborisade also knocked President Buhari for appointing his relatives into sensitive positions.
Governor Olusegun Mimiko, who spoke at the event, said the solution to the economic crisis in the country was to restructure the country.
He argued that the restructuring would also take into account the need to have a decentralized police force.
“How can a unified police structure guarantee security in this nation? We must decentralize the police force so that the local and state can have their police,” he said.
Mr. Mimiko also used the opportunity to eulogise Fawehinmi saying if the late activist had survived his cancer of the lungs, he might have fought to ensure that government voted more funds into the health sector, particularly towards fighting cancer.
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